Warriors host Langley tonight
The West Kelowna Warriors (15-12-0-1) hope to get back in the win column versus the Langley Rivermen (13-12-1-0) tonight in the first meeting of the season between the clubs.
After winning eight games in a row, the Warriors have now lost five of their past six, including a two-game road sweep at the hands of the defending BCHL champion Wenatchee Wild this past weekend.
Saturday’s 4-2 setback in Wenatchee was very controversial and saw several ejections.
West Kelowna’s head coach and general manager Geoff Grimwood was thrown out, along with forwards Chase Dubois, Lucas Cullen and Cavin Tilsley.
Cullen has since been assessed a three-game suspension for receiving a gross misconduct.
Tonight, the Warriors look to forget about their American Thanksgiving road trip and move on to a surging Langley squad that has won four of its past five games with the lone loss to league-leading Chilliwack. Puck-drop at Royal LePage Place is 7 p.m. The injury to Warriors’ top-line centre Parm Dhaliwal has proven significant and the team’s power play has struggled without him in the lineup. West Kelowna has not scored with the man advantage since Nov. 14 in Penticton prior to Dhaliwal getting hurt.
The Warriors’ power play has gone 0-for-13 over that stretch without Dhaliwal.
“He is a big part of our power play and makes others around him better. That being said, it’s a huge opportunity for other guys to step up” said Grimwood. “I’ve always liked the depth of our team and right now is a good opportunity to show it.”
There is still no timeline for Dhaliwal’s return.
“Parm is a huge loss for us, in the dressing room and off the ice,” added Grimwood.
This is an important home game for the Warriors to gain some momentum before they head out to Vancouver Island to play three games in three days this weekend.
The Warriors are sitting in the middle the Interior Division standings — fourth among seven teams, three points back of Wenatchee in third and one point ahead of the fifth-place Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
The Penticton Vees (18-7-1-2) are leading the Interior pack with 39 points, followed by the Merritt Centennials, with 38, Wenatchee (34), West Kelowna (31), Salmon Arm (30), the Vernon Vipers (29) and Trail (28).